Report: 7 of the 10 lowest-paying jobs in America are in food

Last fall, Ruth Reichl said in an interview that the next big food issue in America would and should be social justice for workers. The issue is continuing to press into the limelight.

Gracing the front page of the Business Section today is Stacy Finz’s piece on a new investigative report released today by the Food Chain Workers Alliance. Here are just a few of the more shocking numbers reported in the article:

3.5: The percent of those working in farm, food processing, warehouse, grocery store, and restaurant and food service jobs that make a living wage.

7: The number of the 10 lowest-paying jobs in the country that are in the food industry.

81: The percent of food workers that never receive promotions.

83: The percent of food workers without health insurance.

$200 million: The worth of the top-paid eight CEOs in the food system, which is equal to the earnings of 10,300 food system workers.